The Replicator
- Episode aired May 22, 2013
- TV-14
- 43m
IMDb RATING
8.2/10
2.1K
YOUR RATING
The team searches for Strauss and The Replicator and try to figure out what he wants.The team searches for Strauss and The Replicator and try to figure out what he wants.The team searches for Strauss and The Replicator and try to figure out what he wants.
Photos
Steve Stafford
- FBI Pilot
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe character of John Curtis (Mark Hamill), has his date of birth listed as September 25, 1951. This is Hamill's actual birthday.
- GoofsJohn Curtis complains about being stuck in Kansas when he was sent to the Kansas City bureau. There is no FBI field office in Kansas City, Kansas. The one in Kansas City is in Kansas City, Missouri.
- Quotes
Penelope Garcia: [the team reminisces about Strauss] Do you guys remember that one time that she called me, but I thought that it was somebody else?
[indicates Morgan]
Derek Morgan: Oh, no.
Jennifer Jareau: That... that was funny.
Penelope Garcia: Oh, maybe to you. I was mortified.
Alex Blake: What did you say?
Penelope Garcia: [laughing] I said "Talk dirty to me."
Derek Morgan: Yes, she did.
Alex Blake: [open-mouthed surprise] Are you kidding?
- ConnectionsReferenced in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #21.148 (2013)
Featured review
A season finale that fizzles more than it enthrals
What a shame! "The Replicator" had the potential to be good, and could have been a great resolution to potentially one of 'Criminal Minds' better on-going story arcs. That is wasted by "The Replicator" being a contender for the worst of all the season finales.
It's not all bad. Joe Mantegna and Matthew Gray Gubler are particularly strong of the regulars, who are all dependably solid, while Jeanne Tripplehorn is easily the best of the Prentiss replacements (particularly love her chemistry with Reid on her two-season stint on the show). Jayne Atkinson is good in her final episode.
As ever with 'Criminal Minds', "The Replicator" is stylishly and atmospherically made, and decently directed. The music is suitably haunting and is not over-used, fitting well with the atmosphere and never distracting if not quite enhancing. The theme tune is still memorable, and the final scene is quite touching.
However, the story is the biggest let-down. Pace-wise it can really plod, and the psychological profiling and team dynamic while still present does play second fiddle to everything with Curtis and Strauss, which is not as interesting as it should be. The episode generally is lacking in tension, tautness or suspense, and it is dull, implausible (difficult to believe that The Replicator had the time to commit his crimes, and his reason/motivation seems rather extreme) and sometimes convoluted. The hugely disappointing execution of the story here is enough to bring the rating down three or four points.
Mark Hamill goes through the motions as Curtis in a performance that is not creepy enough, and neither evokes menace or dimension like the most memorable of unsubs. In the previous episodes covering this story arc, The Replicator had the potential to be as notorious and as formidable as the likes of George Foyet, Billy Flynn or Frank Breitkopf, but he isn't as memorable or believable here. The dialogue is not as tight, well-balanced and thought-provoking, instead it feels bland.
Overall, a contender for the weakest and biggest waste-of-potential season finales of 'Criminal Minds', fizzing more than it enthrals and ending on a whimper than a bang. 4/10 Bethany Cox
It's not all bad. Joe Mantegna and Matthew Gray Gubler are particularly strong of the regulars, who are all dependably solid, while Jeanne Tripplehorn is easily the best of the Prentiss replacements (particularly love her chemistry with Reid on her two-season stint on the show). Jayne Atkinson is good in her final episode.
As ever with 'Criminal Minds', "The Replicator" is stylishly and atmospherically made, and decently directed. The music is suitably haunting and is not over-used, fitting well with the atmosphere and never distracting if not quite enhancing. The theme tune is still memorable, and the final scene is quite touching.
However, the story is the biggest let-down. Pace-wise it can really plod, and the psychological profiling and team dynamic while still present does play second fiddle to everything with Curtis and Strauss, which is not as interesting as it should be. The episode generally is lacking in tension, tautness or suspense, and it is dull, implausible (difficult to believe that The Replicator had the time to commit his crimes, and his reason/motivation seems rather extreme) and sometimes convoluted. The hugely disappointing execution of the story here is enough to bring the rating down three or four points.
Mark Hamill goes through the motions as Curtis in a performance that is not creepy enough, and neither evokes menace or dimension like the most memorable of unsubs. In the previous episodes covering this story arc, The Replicator had the potential to be as notorious and as formidable as the likes of George Foyet, Billy Flynn or Frank Breitkopf, but he isn't as memorable or believable here. The dialogue is not as tight, well-balanced and thought-provoking, instead it feels bland.
Overall, a contender for the weakest and biggest waste-of-potential season finales of 'Criminal Minds', fizzing more than it enthrals and ending on a whimper than a bang. 4/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jul 5, 2016
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime43 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD
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